BTR-4 Grom - Armored Personnel Carrier

The BTR-4 Grom [Thunder] armored personnel carrier (APC) is intended to transport personnel of mechanized infantry units and to provide fire support in combat. The design is rather novel, featuring a standard 8x8 BTR infantry fighting vehicle hull to which a mine protected vehicle cab has been affixed. The vehicle as a whole is far more muscular than commonly encountered protected vehicles, while the cab has vastly more glass than ever seen on other infantry fighting vehicles.

The APC is used for equipping military units capable of carrying out combat actions in various conditions, including NBC environment. The APC can be used as a basic vehicle for equipping quick reaction forces and marine corps. The APC can fulfil its tasks both by day and at night, in various climatic conditions, on hard surface roads and in cross-country.

LAYOUT

The BTR-4 has three compartments:

1. The driving compartment is in the front part. In this compartment the driver�s and commander�s seats are placed. Side doors and roof hatches are used for accessing/escaping the driving compartment. For observation of road situation the front and side bullet-proof glasses are used which, if necessary, may be closed with armoured covers. For observation in case of closed armoured covers, the periscope devices are used. For the purpose of driving in bad weather conditions, the night vision devices are used. A routable hatch with sighting devices is installed at the commander�s station.
2. The engine/transmission compartment is in the central part of the hull and is separated from the habitable compartments with hermitic vibration & noise-isolating partitions. In this compartment the engine with its supporting systems, main elements of a steering system, air and hydraulic systems are placed.
3. The fighting and troop compartments are in the central and rear part of the hull and are intended for placement of the combat module with a gunner, troopers and equipment necessary for their work. The troop compartment contains seats for troopers, troop�s periscope devices and firing ports for firing from individual weapon by the troopers. Besides, in habitable compartment the filtering/ventilating system and main elements of ventilation, heating and conditioning systems are placed. Habitable compartments are interconnected by the passageway along the right-hand side.

This layout makes it possible to re-design the fighting and troop compartments for various applications without having to change the layout of the power pack and transmission.

The carrying capacity of the APC�s chassis makes it possible not only develop various vehicle versions and other vehicle types, but also install additional armor protection against automatic small-calibre guns.

The concept of armored vehicles was developed in the early 2000s at KMDB Morozov. The demonstration prototype armored transporter [bronetrasportera] was first demonstrated at the exhibition "Aerosvit" in 2006.

BTR-4 is designed for transporting personnel of mechanized infantry units and fire support in combat. APC is used to equip the units are able to conduct operations in a variety of conditions, including the conditions of use of the enemy weapons of mass destruction. APCs can be a basic vehicle for equipping rapid deployment forces and Marines. BTR can perform tasks in both day and night, in a variety of climatic conditions on roads with different surface and in cross-country. Operating temperature range of ambient air from -40� C to +55� C.

Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau and Malyshev Factory, the Kharkiv enterprises of �Ukroboronprom� state concern finish the testing of BTR-4 with new hulls within the expansion program of the productions of this hardware for the Ukrainian army as the concern reported 25 February 2019. �Malyshev Factory� has successfully finished the full cycle of the testing of the first model of BTR-4 produced at the enterprise and it was qualified as the producer of this hardware. The same procedure of the qualification is almost finished by Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau,� the message said.

It is emphasized that BTR-4 with new hulls have passed a few hundred kilometers off-road and surfaced roads and passed the testing by shelling, including from the heavy machine guns. �Ukroboronprom� is sure that the batch production of BTR-4 with hulls of own manufacture would be possible this year. �It will allow to significantly increase the tempo of the handover of the hardware to the Ukrainian army, which earlier depended on the production capacity of one private enterprise,� the message said.